Coleus plant named ‘UF13-26-7’

ABSTRACT

‘UF13-26-7’ is a new coleus plant distinguished by having consistent, bright orange-bronze colored leaves, a vigorous but compact growth habit, and no flowering characteristics, as disclosed herein.

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Solenostemonscutellarioides.

Cultivar denomination: ‘UF13-26-7’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of coleus plantnamed ‘UF13-26-7’. ‘UF13-26-7’ originated from an open pollinationconducted in May-November 2012 in Gainesville, Fla. between the femalecoleus plant ‘UF12-29-4’ (unpatented) and an unknown male coleus plant.A single seedling was chosen in May 2013 for further asexual propagationin Gainesville, Fla.

‘UF13-26-7’ has been reproduced asexually for over two years throughvegetative cuttings and has been found to retain its distinctivecharacteristics through successive asexual propagations. ‘UF13-26-7’ wasfirst propagated asexually by meristem tip cuttings in May 2013 inGainesville, Fla., and has remained true-to-type since that time.

‘UF13-26-7’ has not been made publicly available more than one yearprior to the filing date of this application.

When compared to the female parent ‘UF12-29-4’, ‘UF13-26-7’ has large,orange-bronze leaves and a compact branched habit, while ‘UF12-29-4’ hasslightly smaller leaves colored deep bronze with a more upright planthabit and less lateral branching.

When ‘UF13-26-7’ is compared to the commercial cultivar ‘UF09-8-87’(unpatented; trade name Keystone Kopper®), both plants haveorange-bronze foliage color and purple stems, however the leaves of‘UF13-26-7’ are larger and more brightly colored in both sun and shadeconditions. ‘UF13-26-7’ also has a more vigorous growth habit and hasnot been observed to flower, whereas ‘UF09-8-87’ flowers profusely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishingcharacteristics of ‘UF13-26-7’ when grown under normal horticulturalpractices in Gainesville, Fla. ‘UF13-26-7’ has a combination of a novel,vigorous, compact, upright growth habit, excellent heat tolerance, andconsistent bright orange-bronze colored leaves. ‘UF13-26-7’ has superiorstability in foliage color in both sun and shade conditions, maintainingstable color in all conditions. ‘UF13-26-7’ has a vigorous but compactupright growth habit with excellent lateral branching when grown as astock plant, thus providing ample vegetative propagules for producers.Due to the plant never being observed to produce flowers in Gainesville,Fla., ‘UF13-26-7’ is desirable for long-season performance in thelandscape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This new coleus plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographs,which show the plant's form and foliage. The colors shown are as true ascan be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures.FIGS. 2 and 3 were taken of plants grown for nine weeks from unrootedcuttings that were pinched once at four weeks after stick and grown fiveadditional weeks in November 2014-January, 2015 in a poly-coveredplastic greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla.

FIG. 1—shows the pedigree of the claimed plant.

FIG. 2—shows the growth habit, form, and foliage of the claimed plant.

FIG. 3—shows a close-up of the foliage.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description sets forth the distinctivecharacteristics of ‘UF13-26-7’. The detailed description was obtainedusing eight-week-old plants grown from uprooted cuttings inNovember-January of 2015 in a poly-covered plastic greenhouse inGainesville, Fla. The plants were pinched four weeks after cuttings werestuck, then grown in 1-gallon pots for approximately five additionalweeks. Color references are to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The RoyalHorticultural Society of London (R.H.S.), 2007 5th Edition.

-   Classification:    -   -   Family.—Lamiaceae.        -   Botanical.—Solenostemon scutellarioides.        -   Common name.—Coleus.        -   Cultivar name.—‘UF13-26-7’.-   Plant description:    -   -   Form.—Spreading.        -   Habit.—Upright.        -   Height (from top of soil).—30-35 cm.        -   Width (horizontal plant diameter).—50-55 cm.-   Propagation:    -   -   Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristems having at least 1 node.        -   Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days.        -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days.        -   Root habit.—Fibrous.        -   Root description.—Callus forms in 2 to 3 days, roots            initiate in 3-4 days and become a highly branched cutting in            7-10 days.-   Branches:    -   -   Quantity per plant.—5-6.        -   Branch color.—RHS 199D.        -   Texture.—Smooth.        -   Pubescence.—Not present.        -   Stem description.—Square-shaped stem, 0.5 cm in diameter at            the soil line.        -   Branch diameter.—0.4-0.5 cm at the base of a 25-cm long            branch.        -   Branch length.—20-25 cm.        -   Internode length.—3.5-4.0 cm.        -   Anthocyanin.—N/A.-   Leaves:    -   -   Quantity of leaves per branch.—14 to 16.        -   Arrangement.—Opposite.        -   Fragrance.—Not fragrant.        -   Shape.—Ovate.        -   Length.—14-16 cm.        -   Width.—10-12 cm.        -   Apex.—Broadly acuminate.        -   Base.—Attenuate.        -   Margin.—Crenate.        -   Leaf texture (both surfaces).—Smooth.        -   Pubescence (both surfaces).—Not present.        -   Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 186A. Lower surface: RHS            156C.        -   Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Arcuate. Lower surface:            Arcuate and reticulate.        -   Color.—Immature leaf: Upper surface: Center: RHS 166C;            margin: RHS N144A. Lower surface: RHS 184A.        -   Color.—Mature leaf: Upper surface: Center: RHS 172B; margin:            RHS N144A. Lower surface: RHS 187C.        -   Petiole length.—5-6 cm.        -   Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm.        -   Petiole color.—RHS 199D.        -   Petiole texture.—Smooth.-   Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed to date.-   Fruit/seed set: Fruit/seed not observed.-   Disease and insect resistance: Disease and insect resistance is    typical of the species, thus no claims are made of any superior    disease or insect resistance with this cultivar. The most common    insect pests observed on this plant in Gainesville, Fla. have been    long-tailed or citrus mealybugs (Pseudococcus sp.), which occur on    older stock plant material held in the greenhouse for over 3-4    months. Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (Bunyaviridae) has also been    observed in plants confined in greenhouses with mixed crops    (peppers) infected with Western flower thrips (Frankliniella    occidentalis). The most common pathogen of this species in the U.S.    is downy mildew (Peronospora lamii). This pathogen has been observed    in stock materials grown closely together in cooler growing seasons.

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct Solenostemon scutellarioidesplant named ‘UF13-26-7’ as described and illustrated herein.